Finance
Where Finance, Technology, Entrepreneurship, and Impact Intersect
The Finance Program at Berkeley Haas reflects the Bay Area at large; we live and excel here at the global intersection of finance, technology, entrepreneurship, and impact.
Finance is top-3 among career paths that out MBAs pursue. The San Francisco Financial District, which is a short train ride from Berkeley, is the finance hub for the western half of the U.S. This provides ease of access for students to meet with alumni and other finance professionals for individual networking and interviews and for professionals to come to campus for recruiting, networking, guest speaker roles, and as faculty.
The San Francisco Bay Area is also the global capital of the Tech and Venture Capital industries, which underlie much of corporate finance, M+A, IPO and investment activity.
The Finance Program is perennially ranked in the top 10 by U.S. News & World Report, with faculty members who are leading researchers or leading practitioners in M&A, asset management, private equity, venture capital, impact investing, and fintech.
MBA students lead Finance, Investment, Private Equity, Fintech, and Venture Capital clubs and participate in national competitions like the Alpha Challenge, Sustainable Investing Challenge, and private equity competitions.
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Finance Resources
- New Venture Finance
- Asset Management
- Private Equity
- Venture Capital
- Mergers and Acquisitions
- Corporate Finance
- Search Funds
- Sustainable and Impact Finance courses including Impact Investing Landscape
- Speaker Series courses in Investment Banking, Venture Capital, Investment Management, Private Equity, and Fintech
- Some finance students also choose to take quantitative finance courses in our Master of Financial Engineering program
Haas Sustainable Investment Fund
The Haas Sustainable Investment Fund is the first and largest student-managed socially responsible investment fund within a leading business school. You gain real-world experience in delivering strong financial returns and positive social impact. Since 2008, the student principals have more than quadrupled the initial investment to over $4 million.
Haas Impact Fund
Student teams receive training on sourcing, evaluating, and conducting due diligence for double bottom line impact investing opportunities, and then compete to analyze and pitch such ventures to a panel of judges, for up to $7,500 equity investment.
Impact Investing Practicum
Student teams lead projects for impact investing firms over ten weeks.
Hedge Fund Strategies
In Hedge Fund Strategies, student teams develop, test, and pitch their own investment strategies to a panel of investment professionals.
See the full list of Berkeley MBA experiential learning opportunitiesAll scholarship and fellowship recipients are awarded scholarship money, are paired with a mentor in their field of interest, and receive priority enrollment in finance electives.
Investment Banking and Asset Management Fellowships
$5,000 scholarships and pairing with a mentor in investment banking or asset management, with applications in fall semester.
Entrepreneurial Finance Fellowship
For students with career goals in finance at startups, venture capital, impact investing, and fintech. $5,000 scholarships and pairing with a mentor in an entrepreneurial finance field, with applications in fall semester.
CJ White Fellowship
Scholarships of up to $100,000 and mentorship, awarded upon admission.
Professor Ulrike Malmendier researches corporate finance, behavioral economics and finance, the economics of organizations, contract theory, law and economics, and law and finance. She is the recipient of the 2013 Fischer Black Prize in Economics, which honors the top finance scholar under the age of 40.
Professor Adair Morse is a Founding Faculty Director for the Sustainable and Impact Finance Initiative. She has taught Haas Sustainable Investment Fund, Haas Impact Fund, and New Venture Finance. She studies sustainable and impact investing, entrepreneurship, pension asset management, and served under Janet Yellen at U.S. Treasury.
Peter Goodson is a member of the professional faculty and a private equity pioneer, having served as an early stage partner at Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, one of the first management buyout firms. He teaches Mergers & Acquisitions and Private Equity.
As executive director of strategic programs for the Berkeley Haas Finance Group, William Rindfuss develops programs to complement the finance curriculum and expands partnerships with the finance community and alumni. He previously worked as head of credit risk management for the West Coast at JPMorgan Investment Bank.
Meet more Finance facultyThe Finance Club organizes activities to assist members in evaluating careers in finance, including investment banking, and connects members with alumni and other finance professionals. The club runs a highly active calendar of events, in conjunction with other related clubs, that includes speakers, teach-ins, and workshops on topics from fintech to fixed income and financial modeling, as well as treks to firms such as Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan.
The Venture Capital Club provides training and promotes fellowships, internships and jobs in venture capital.
The FinTech Club connects students with career opportunities and prepares them to succeed as leaders in the fintech space. The club hosts speakers on topics such as blockchain and fintech for good.
The Investment Club supports student interest in investment and financial analysis and helps them conduct job searches in the investment management industry, with a focus on fostering relationships with West Coast firms. The club holds an internal stock pitch competition each year and fields teams for national competitions such as the UNC Alpha Challenge and the Cornell Stock-Pick Challenge. Students also lead treks to Bay Area and LA-based firms.
The Private Equity Club offers opportunities for professional development and industry exposure, focusing on the range between growth equity and leveraged buyouts. Members compete in LBO competitions.
Students leverage their co-curricular experience, the Berkeley Haas Alumni Network, and the Career Management Group to pursue careers in finance. They benefit from training and advising from CMG professionals, workshops, treks to and visits from target firms, networking events, easy access to alumni and other professionals, and promotion of internships and job opportunities.
Students have access to online training in financial modeling from Wall Street Prep and a workshop on Valuation by Training the Street.
Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, BlackRock, Parnassus, Square (and other FinTech startups) are just few of the employers who recognize the value a Berkeley MBA has to offer in finance. Additionally, firms such as Google and Amazon choose Berkeley MBA grads for in-house finance roles.
Haas brought me up to speed in different asset classes, current industry trends, and different investment philosophies. It also helped me develop useful managerial and leadership skills, and I gained both the hard and soft skills that were vital in my recruiting process. In my current role at BlackRock, I'm able to achieve my professional goal of improving access to financial securities and diversification for all kinds of investors.
Claudia Silva Fajuri, MBA '17
Fixed Income Strategy Associate, BlackRock
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The Haas Full-time MBA is our flagship offering, designed to give students the tools to become leaders and earn their MBAs. Learn from world-renowned faculty as well as our truly global cohort of students. All this in the heart of Silicon Valley.